The continental award will be decided by votes from coaches of the group phase clubs of the CAF-MTN Champions League whilst the coaches of the 53-National associations affiliated to CAF, voting for the best player across the world.The shortlist for the Glo-CAF Best Player on the continent are Mohamed Aboutreika (Al- Ahly, Egypt), Ahmed Hassan (Al-Ahly, Egypt), Flavio Amado (Al-Ahly, Angola), Tresor Mputu Mabi (T.P. Mazembe, DR Congo) and Stephen Worgu (Enyimba, Nigeria).

Mohamed Aboutreika (Al-Ahly, Egypt), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, Togo), Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic, Egypt), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Cote d’Ivoire) and Michael Essien (Chelsea, Ghana) make up the shortlist for the Glo-CAF Best Player across the world.The final three of the two categories will be named before the Awards Gala fixed for Cotonou, Benin in December 2008.Ms. Gladys Telavi, Executive Director of Legal Services of Globacom assured of her outfit’s commitment to the development of football on the continent by making the event memorable.This is the fourth time the Nigeria-based cellular giants will be sponsoring the annual event since 2008.Mali’s Frederic Kanoute won the flagship award held in Togo last year.

GABORONE - Botswana has been ranked 45th out of 104 countries in the world and second in Africa, out of 15 states, by the latest Legatum Institute Global Prosperity Index.

According to the institute, "the index defines prosperity as a holistic combination of material wealth and life satisfaction, measuring how well nations are promoting both economic growth and quality life".

Australia holds the top spot, ahead of Austria and Finland; Yemen ranks last, following several African nations including Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mali." The institute further says, "Well-governed Botswana has, over a period of 30 years, achieved one of the fastest rates of income growth in the world, despite still high HIV/AIDS infection rates".

It says Namibia trails closely behind Botswana in 55th place and is unique in the region in having no severe weaknesses and one notable strength, equality of opportunity. South Africa has enjoyed success in enabling individual entrepreneurship by lowering the costs of formalising a business.

Countries said to be in the bottom quartile of the index are said to be [continue reading]

FRANCISTOWN - The President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, has called for the immediate intervention of SADC, African Union and the United National mediators to resolve the Zimbabwean political impasse.

He was speaking at the official opening of the Francistown College of Technical and Vocational Education (FCTVE) in Francistown on Friday.

General Khama's urgent call follows failure by the Zimbabwean President, Mr Robert Mugabe, and MDC leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, to break a deadlock over the allocation of key cabinet ministries.

He said four weeks ago the heads of states and government from SADC were in Harare to witness the signing of the power-sharing agreement, which they welcomed as a new era for Zimbabwean people.

He said they were hopeful that the signing of the deal would relieve Zimbabweans from the [continue reading]

FRANCISTOWN - African National Congress (ANC)'s Treasurer, Dr Mathews Phosa says his party supports President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama's position regarding the political situation in Zimbabwe. Dr Phosa who was a guest speaker at the Botswana Democratic Party Women's Wing fund-raising dinner in Francistown on Saturday said "just because someone was a freedom fighter does not give that person the right to override democracy. No one should claim to be a leader if he is not elected by the people." He said ANC believed that SADC should be empowered to act against dictators. "We must put pressure on the ZANU (PF) leader, Mr Robert Mugabe to abide by the principle of democracy and the rule of law," he said. President Khama was the first and the only SADC leader who openly criticised Mr Mugabe after he lost the March 29 Presidential election.

The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, also failed to take over power on a constitutional technicality. However Dr Phosa who was also launching the BDP Women's Wing motto and theme: "We are Visible, we are Here, you can Trust us," called on government to increase women representation in [continue reading]

SELEBI-PHIKWE - The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Peter Siele, has reminded Sinohydro Corporation and its employees of the need to complete the P1.34 billion Dikgathong Dam on time.

"This project is a big national asset," he said when addressing a meeting between Sinohydro directors and the workers last week. "It is going to be the biggest dam in the country. It will solve water crises in several big villages and provide water for the Mmamabula Coal Project. So there is a need to complete it on time." During the meeting, the workers appealed to Mr Siele to him to help resolve a stand-off between them and their employer.

They voiced dissatisfaction about several issues including poor supervision and abuse by their Chinese supervisors. In addition they alleged that they were requested to pay for protective equipment, which they felt they should be provided with free of charge.

The workers further complained of poor accommodation at the camp site, which they described as poor, with six people sharing one room, and we are not allowed to bring their utensils.

Mr Basimane Tidimalo, a representative of the employees, said management had [continue reading]

JWANENG - The Member of Parliament for Ngwaketse West says the failure to timeously inspect projects in villages will result in loss of money as the government will have to re-finance such projects when they later show serious deficiencies.

Mr Mephato Reatile was responding to queries raised by Metlobo residents who complained about the state of bad roads in their area, especially the Mmathethe-Metlobo Road during a kgotla meeting on last week.

The villagers said they were disappointed that despite government's efforts to grade the road, it was evident that a shoddy job had been done in its construction as the road was worse than before.

Mr Reatile encouraged the Village Development Committee (VDC) to monitor the implementation of projects as inspectors in the [continue reading]

The Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Duke Lefhoko told local business people on Saturday that they can make good money if they take advantage of the recently launched SADC Free Trade Area (SADC FTA).

Lefhoko was the guest speaker at the annual Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) Gala dinner at the GICC, where he represented his boss Neo Moroka.

The Assistant Minister urged the local business community to improve the quality of their products and services and their competitiveness to tap into multi-billion dollar markets offered by the newly introduced regional free trade area. The theme of this year's BOCCIM Gala Dinner was: "Unlocking the potential of the SADC Free Trade Area".

Lefhoko hailed the SADC FTA saying it creates a regional market of 170 million people with an annual turn over of $360 billion. The picture looks even much brighter when [continue reading]

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 14 (acn) The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture of Botswana, Gladys K. Kokorwe, met on Monday with the Cuban ambassador in this African nation, Jorge Luis Lopez Tormo, and thanked him for Cuba’s assistance and cooperation with her country.

During the meeting, Kokorwe and Lopez Tormo spoke of topics related to youths, sports and culture in both countries.

The Minister noted that her country has begun to obtain positive results in different sports events at the regional and international level thanks, among other reasons, to the Cuban cooperation in this sector.

Fort his part, the Cuban diplomat expressed his [continue reading]

A group of anonymous soldiers in the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has threatened to wreak havoc before end of this month.

The group also claims responsibility for the veldt fires that have swept across the country since August, in a paper circulated to media houses. The fires have ravaged the country's tourist destinations such as the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR), Tsodilo Hills, National Parks and grazing land.

The group had earlier threatened to derail Botswana Railways trains to cripple its operations during Independence holidays, but their threats never materialised.

Yesterday deputy commander of (BDF) and Commander of the BDF Air Arm Major General Gobuamang Thokwane downplayed the threats, describing them as "unfortunate".

In an exclusive interview with Mmegi, Thokwane said the threats are empty, but BDF would continue with investigations to determine if perpetrators are from its ranks. He confirmed that a similar document has reached BR and Btv chiefs. "It is difficult to deal with faceless people, very difficult, because as [continue reading]

The Central Transport Organisation (CTO) hold its first ever vehicle auction sale for citizens only on Thursday this week in Gaborone.

CTO general manager, Lt-Col Moakohi Modisanyane told Mmegi yesterday that about 1,813 vehicles are up for auction. The vehicles will be sold in batches with the first units from Gaborone going under the hammer on October 16 and October 30.

Other auction sales will be in Ghanzi on October 21, Tsabong on October 22, Kasane on October 27, Francistown on October 28, Selebi-Phikwe on October 29, Serowe on November 4, Lobatse on November 5 and Mahalapye on November 3.

Modisanyane said those wishing to bid for the vehicles must pay the required P2,000 deposit three days before the date of sale.

Those who have paid will be allowed to inspect the vehicles before the auction.

Modisanyane said security will be [continue reading]

Letshego Holdings is confident it will raise up to P1 billion after the company's shareholders last week approved the use of debt instruments to seek funding to finance the growth strategies of the group in Africa.

"Looking at the performance of the Group and our strong loan book, we expect a positive response from the market," Group Managing Director, Jan Claassen, said at a press conference last Friday.

Claassen said despite the financial crisis gripping the world markets, there are still fund managers in the US whose business models are excellent and are interested in investing in Africa.

The Botswana market, which remains resilient to the turmoil on world markets, has excess liquidity, resulting in most bonds listed on [continue reading]

Boteti Exploration on Friday received a 15-year mining licence from the Botswana government for its proposed AK06 diamond project near Orapa.

De Beers (70 percent) and African Diamonds (28 percent) own Boteti Exploration.

Production is scheduled to start in April 2011, with all of Boteti's diamond production to be sold through Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB).

Statements from the Joint Venture partners said government has undertaken to supply power to the project from the national grid, and had decided not to take equity in the venture. Government had the right to buy up to a 10 percent stake in the mine.

This is the second new diamond mine in which the government has decided not to invest after it declined to buy into the Lerala mine recently opened by BSE listed junior Diamonex.

Government has also agreed to [continue reading]

President Ian Khama is jetting off to Namibia today to fast track the construction of a Botswana harbour facility at Walvis Bay.

Reliable sources in government told Monitor that the two presidents will unlock the logjam that has dogged negotiations for the lease of land for the construction of the facility.

The project was first mooted under former President Festus Mogae but was delayed because Botswana and Namibia have disagreed on the terms of the lease.The construction of a Botswana port at Walvis Bay has not taken off since Namibia offered Botswana a 36,400sqm for use as a dry port a few years ago. Both countries have been dragging their feet in signing the lease agreement that should pave way for the development of the port. Gerald Thipe, the Coordinator of the Transport Hub in Botswana previously described the issue as sensitive.

On February 8 this year, both countries signed a [continue reading]

This year's business networking show, Global Expo '08, will get underway from Wednesday.

Under the theme 'Promoting Economic, Diversification and International Trade, the three-day BEDIA-piloted show will be launched by the Vice President Mompati Merafhe at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) on October 15.

"This is a business-to-business exhibition that gives local and international manufacturers an opportunity to build, generate and maintain business networking relations," says a statement from BEDIA. "It also enables them to find market access and to sell their products."

Alongside the exhibition will be investment forums, workshops and buyer-seller meetings hosted by [continue reading]

BOBONONG:The Babirwa representative in the House of Chiefs, Mmirwa Malema has urged the government to reconsider erecting an electric fence along the Zimbabwean border in the Bobirwa area, to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks.

Speaking during a meeting convened by Vice President Mompati Merafhe in Bobonong last Thursday, Malema said the area is currently hit by drought and cattle disease. The movement of animals between Botswana and Zimbabwe spreads FMD. He stated that Bobirwa area does not have FMD and drought and the problems have been imported from Zimbabwe through smuggling of livestock.

After the outbreak of FMD in the area in 2006, there were plans to erect an electric fence on the border with Zimbabwe but the decision was reversed in favour of intensified patrols. But Malema feels that the government should erect the fence. "We had wanted the electric fence to be erected because now we are in a state of despair. I plead with the [continue reading]

Anyway, back to Botswana. There's an interesting piece in The Voice about the Funeral Services Group (FSG), which recently raised P36 million through its listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), and is now set to "test regional markets":

"...as the only listed funeral services in Africa and second in the world, FSG’s strength [deals] in [an] effort to understand the culture and people benefitting from the services. The introduction of new products and services such as the planned private cemetery also showed initiatives to develop into a first world-class entity. 'The shareholding oversubscription is a good sign for the company’s sound financial management. All these achievements would not be possible without commitment from board members and the business community.' [said Francistown-based Director of Kagiso Funeral Parlour (a subsidiary of FSG), Tersia Stellenberg]"

Lesotho has kicked off on a more serious note with a treatment literacy programme. Ten Treatment Literacy Trainers (TLTs) were recruited in September and have already started with their Treatment Literacy and Advocacy work.

So far, a number of advocacy issues have been identified. These include an Ante Natal Clinic where pregnant ladies are sent back to bring their husbands or prospective fathers of the expected child for HIV testing. These ladies are told that without these men, they will never receive any service.

Another example is a clinic where there are no drugs but patients are told to go and purchase prescribed drugs privately from some staff members (after hours). This leaves a question as to where do these "private" drugs come from while the clinic is experiencing drug stock-outs.

The last example is an ART clinic where client's questions are not answered well. Clinic staff are not happy when asked questions for clarifications. Follow-ups are not also done as to whether clients take their ARVs faithfully.

All the above are examples of some of the advocacy issues identified by the TLTs. We are already trying to follow up on these issues. We will keep all Bloggers informed of the progress as we positively address these issues on a serious note.

Meanwhile the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) has organised a Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Advocacy Workshop which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 21st to 22nd October 2008. ARASA is one of the organisations which work very hard in educating, addressing and fighting for the rights of people; and addresses HIV/TB issues from the human rights perspective. ARASA is funding the Treatment Literacy and Advocacy programme in Lesotho, Botswana and other countries in Southern Africa.

Regards

Alf Thotolo

The government warned this week of prolonged power outages due to the ongoing services but added that it was courting the Chinese to inject money into the stalled Mmamabula project.

Minerals, Energy and Water Resources minister, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, indicated that the country will run short of 80 mws of electricity supply for the months of October and November this year due to a multiple of factors, such as the overhaul of one of the units at Morupule and the ongoing repairs at one of the aged Mozambique power stations.
“Due to the constraints outlined, the total supply available stands at 452 MW compared to the total demand of some 500 MW during the period of high demands,” he said.

The Morupule power station supplies the country with 120 MW while running at full capacity and the Mozambique supply is at 85 MW at full capacity. The two months’ power shortage is expected to have minimal impact on the key pillars of the economy—especially mining.

However, he stated that government is [continue reading]

GABORONE - Government has formed an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the finalisation and implementation of a National Strategic Framework for combating alcohol abuse.

According to a news release from Botswana Government Communication Information Systems (BGCIS), this is in line with government's decision to adopt a holistic approach to the challenge of substance abuse in Botswana.

In an addition, it says the decision is consistent with World Health Organisation guidelines and international best practice.

The release says ministries and independent departments directly engaged in the effort include the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is coordinating the effort, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, NACA, the Police Service and BGCIS.

It says in moving forward, the committee will also be [continue reading]

Botswana's economic competitiveness has improved on the back of strong macro-economic stability, good quality institutions and infrastructure as well as financial market sophistication, a report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, Switzerland reveals.

According to the report, which uses the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) as its barometer for the rankings, Botswana has gone up 20 places to position 56 from a list of 134 countries.

Delivering the keynote address at the launch of the report at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) on Wednesday, the CEO of the Citizen Empowerment Development Agency (CEDA) Dr Thapelo Matsheka said although the marked improvement in Botswana's ranking is a cause for celebration, Botswana still has a long way to go to [continue reading]

GABORONE - The Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Mrs Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, says government has created a good environment for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in order to address rural connectivity to communications infrastructure.

Addressing the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation's ICT summit in Abuja, Nigeria, recently, Mrs Venson-Moitoi gave the example of the Nteletsa II project, which has been concluded with some public and private telecommunications operators.

Mrs Venson-Moitoi said her ministry was working on Internet connectivity to all government-owned junior secondary schools.

She added that Kitsong Centres, which were owned and run by communities, had been established in 45 centres countrywide. She noted that the e-government project was to be fast-tracked, adding that the government had also embarked on a strategic link with the [continue reading]

The Director of Information Services (IS) Kebareng Solomon, Mmegi is reliably informed, was summoned to the Office of the President (OP) to explain why yesterday's Daily News had no story on alcohol.

The newspaper only had an advert titled Alcohol abuse wrecks lives on the back page. On the page, a man is asleep and has by his side a bottle of alcohol. The advert says that alcoholism is the cause of moral decay, domestic violence, rape, road carnage and impoverishment of households.

Efforts to reach Solomon were futile as her mobile went unanswered.
But sources in government media circles claim that a committee chaired by a high-ranking official in the Broadcasting Services Department has been created. The committee, made of state electronic and print media personnel, is said to be up and running. Meetings have been held and strategies drafted on how the state media machinery would be used to beef up government's war on alcohol. After reading yesterday's Mmegi, some employees of the state media called to complain about this latest development.

"Radio (RB and RB2) and television (Btv) journalists were called to [continue reading]

Militarisation of the civil service is continuing and the latest casualty is the department of prisons and rehabilitation.

After months of denial that the Office of the President wants a soldier to take over, the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs announced in a press release yesterday the appointment of Colonel Silas Motlalekgosi as commissioner of Prisons and Rehabilitation effective October 6, 2008.

The appointment comes amid thick speculation that Herman Kau was being pushed out to pave way for a loyal soldier who will take, without question, all instructions from the OP.
However public relations officer for Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Lebogang Bok says, "the appointment follows the retirement [continue reading]

Botswana has not signed a treaty on its borders with Zimbabwe and Namibia and some white farmers who live along the country's boundary lines are taking advantage of the situation, it has been revealed.

A senior government official revealed at the National Security Strategy Review that ended yesterday that the problem is serious where Botswana does not have a border fence.

He told Mmegi after the seminar that there is no treaty over the 850km of boundary line between Botswana and Zimbabwe, which is also not fenced. The official added that the problem is serious at the Kazungula/Zambezi River where there is confusion over where the two countries share the border.

"For 100 years we have known that the Kazungula River is the centre of Botswana/Zambia border, but recently Zimbabwe claimed ownership of the border line. It is the spot where the ferry [continue reading]

The Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) said Wednesday that Botswana has fallen far short of achieving its 2003 ranking in terms of competitiveness, according to the annual report the Global Competitiveness report.

Although the country moved 20 points up to number 55 against last year’s number 76, it is was still far from the score of number 36 that it reached five years ago.

The report said Batswana still has poor work ethic, inefficiency in government institutions, poor education standards and people still lack access to finance, which makes it difficult for its citizens to compete in the cut-throat global economy.
Some of the key problems were related to labour issues where Botswana scored very poorly saying that it is difficult and costly in the country to fire an incompetent employee.

The report’s findings attracted a [continue reading]